Traveling bag



B. LAUFMAN TRAVELING BAG Nov. 7, 1933.

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 7, 1933 TBAVEEING BAG Benjamin Laufman, Newark, N. J., assignor to Mutual Brief Case Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 20, 1932. Serial Nb. 629,601

7 Claims. (01. 190-41) This invention relates generally to traveling bags and more particularly to that type of bag generally known in the trade as a hand bag. The term hand bag is herein employed as it is 5 general; and can be defined as comprising a bottom which forms the seat for the bag, the botbeing generally oblong in shape and relatively rigid, and further comprising side walls 'extending the full width of the bag from their coni0 nection to the bottom to their line of iuncture to form the bag opening, and also end walls tapering upwardly so as to give the bag the general conformation of an upwardly tapering piece of baggage, and such hand bags are also generally provided along the meeting line of the two side walls with means for maintaining the top of the bag in closed relation. In the aforementioned type of hand bag this is done by means of two U-shaped, relatively rigid frame members pivoted 29 to each'other at the legs of the U, and arranged,

to bag normally assumes a closed position and means must be provided for maintaining it open, and that furthermore, the degree of opening of the side walls is restricted within.the limits permitted by the frame structure.

s5 It is one .0: the objects of-the 'mvnuon to provide a bag structure of this typein which the parts are so constructed and devised that while in closed position thebag will answer -to the hand bag typeabove described, but, while in 40 open position; it will have all the attributes of a bag the free dimensional areas. of which are such as to give it the general outlines of a parallelepipedom and this I accomplish byproviding a bag of this type with end walls which have a portion thereof serving 'as such wall when the bag is closed, thereby giving the effect of an upwardly-tapering hand bag, and yet which can be extended when open, so as to make said end walls capable of approaching a rectangular shape, thereby permitting the bag to assume its shape as a parallelepipedon. In the specific embodiment herein disclosed, this construction takes the form of an end member which has the central part thereof rigid and generally trapezoidal in shape and has added to each side of -mouth position, and, on the other hand, will serve to cause the end walls to assume their reduced dimensions by collapsing the side gussets, and in the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, thisclosure arrangement comprises relatively flexible members, which are so associated with-the parts as to permit of the association therewith of a locking means in the form of what is generally known in the trade as a slide closure. I

As another feature of the invention it is an object to provide, in connection with a hand bag, an opening for the bag the members of which are relatively flexible so as to permit of the employment therewith of a slide closure, and it is in this connection a further object of the invention to eliminate from the bag, as far as possible, any rigid elements which will in any way interfere I with the opening of the bag, to its maximum extent, so as to give an opening on the top that 86'. corresponds more or less with the bottom of the bag a It is a further object of the invention to provide a construction which will enable the bag to open without danger of spilling'or loss of the contents. 90

For a complete understanding of the inven-' tion. reference will be. made to the description and the drawings which shows'one'of the many embodiments thereof which may be made by those skilled in the art, and it will be understood that this embodiment is merely'illustrative and in no sense limiting, and .that many changes may bfinade in the details-without thereby departin from the spirit and scope of the invention.

While I have described and illustrated an embodiment which contains all the enumerated obiects, it is to be understood that embodiments of the invention can be employed to utilize only some of the objectives and not all of them.

For the attainment of these objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated one manner'of Figure 1 is a perspective view of the traveling bag in closed position;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the bag in open position, portions of it being broken away to betteriirllustrate the invention;

Figured isa bottom plan view of the bag;

.Figure 4* is a detailed view of the flap formed at the end of the top member of the bag and illustrates the fastening means at the end of the bag opposite to that shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 5 is a cross section on line 55 of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a transverse longitudinal section of the bag, substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 1, but showing also in addition a modification in the locking arrangement.

Before describing the invention in detail, I will premise that it comprises a substantially rectangular bottom portion 11 and two substantially rectangular side portions 13, all of which parts are of usual form and joined in any suitable and customary manner, such as by sewing. The bottom portion may consist of an outer covering 12, which may have a reinforcing member 14 joined thereto, whereby it will be made rigid, butqthe side portions 13 are left flexible.

Uniting these side portions and bottom portions are end members of peculiar construction, and different from the end members usually applied to hand bags, and they comprise a flexible outer covering 16 and a reinforcing piece 18 joined thereto as by sewing, cementing or otherwise. The outer portion is made substantially rectangular or trapezoidal in shape so that the bag may be expanded to have the side walls 13 stand up vertically or even diverge upwardly and the inner reinforcing piece 18 is made with its side converging upwardly so as to permit the' upper portions of the sides 13, when the bag is closed, to approach each other, thereby making the bag narrower at the top than at the bottom. The efiect of this is to leave the substantially triangular-flexible portions 1'? intermediate the side pieces and the rigid portions of the end pieces.

It will thus be seen that the elements so far described form a container, which when expanded to its maximum has a parallelepipedal conflguration and which is open at the top, and which will at all times safely hold articles packed in the bag and prevent their loss, while at the same time the side pieces may be drawn together against the rigid end portions, thereby compressing the contents of the bag and changing its shape until it assumes the appearance of a conventional hand bag narrowerat the top than at the bottom. This may be done by either a flexible piece of leather, or a steel frame inserted or hidden inside of it.

To completely attain the objects of the invention, it is necessary to provide a top closure which will not destroy the desirable characteristics mentioned, and which will provide a convenient and effective latching and locking means. I therefore provide a limp and flexible closure member 20 at the top of the bag, having extensions formed into flaps 21 which overlie the end pieces 16. This closure member 20 is fastened at its sides to the side pieces and to the sides of the end pieces where they join the side pieces, but the flaps 21 are left free. The top member 20 has a slit 29 running midway along its length without, however, dividing the top piece into two separated sections, sufficient material being left at both ends for the purpose of holding the sections together.

The top piece 20, besides its other functions, also acts as a shield to prevent the entry of rain into the bag. The two opposing sides of the slit are formed so that they can cooperate to interengage and close and for this purpose they may, by way of example, carry the stringer members 30 of a slide closure, and a slide member 31 is provided to bring the stringer members into locking relation when it is slid along the stringers in one direction, and to disengage them when slid in the opposite direction. The slide closure may be of a standard type, such, for instance, as shown in Patent #1,557,382, October 13, 1925.

In order to be able to lock the bag, I may make use of the latch member 33 of a key-operated lock which is carried from the slide member 31 by a connecting link 32. The main member of the lock 34 is applied to one of the ends 16 of the bag, it will be in a position in which the latch member 33 can engage the lock portion 34. To hold the other flap 21 at the opposite end of the bag in place, I may provide a spring clasp member comprising the male portion 36 and the female portion 35.

I may reinforce the flap portions by a lining 26 of strong flexible material such as leather, and between this lining and the top piece 20 I,may provide an inner lining 25 which may be of fabric and which extends along the under side of the top piece throughout its length.

The whole bag may be provided with an inner lining 56 throughout and may further, as an added convenience, have inner pockets 57 closed by spring fasteners 58. A U-shaped handle piece 60 is applied to each side piece 13, and supported therefrom by loops 61, passing through apertures in the ends of the handle and secured to the sides by looped strips 62 of leather or other suitable material. The handles 60 may be formed with bends 63, applied near their end portions so that when the bag is being carried, the middle portions of the handles will be brought conveniently together.

In the modification shown in Figure 6, I employ a key-operated locking member at each end of the bag. At the right end I employ the arrangement already described, but at the left end I apply a latching member 35a to the flap 21, which cooperates with a key-operated member 34 applied to the end of the bag.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a travelling bag (in the form of a pocket opening at the top, said pocket being formed by a bottom piece, side pieces and end pieces joined together, and a flexible member forming the top of said bag flexibly joined to the side pieces and to the sides of the end pieces, the tops of said end pieces being free.

2. A travelling bag in the form of a pocket opening at the top, and formed by a bottom piece, side pieces and end pieces connected together, a flexible member forming the top of said bag and fastened along its sides to the side pieces and to the sides of the end pieces, the tops of said end pieces being free, and means for fastening the ends of the flexible top member to the end container and to the sides of the end pieces, the

tops of the end pieces being free, and said flexible member having flaps overhanging the end pieces.

4. A travelling bag in the form of a container having a relatively rigid bottom piece, side pieces and end pieces, a flexible member forming the top of said bag and fastened to the side pieces of the container and to the sides of the end pieces, the upper edges of said end pieces being free, and said flexible members having flaps overhanging the end pieces, and means for fastening the ends of the top member to the end pieces of thebag.

5. In a travelling bag in the form of a container having side pieces and end pieces and a bottom piece joined together, a flexible member forming the top of said bag fastened to the side pieces of the container and having end portions normally free, said flexible top member having an opening therein extending longitudinally of same, a distributed adjustable closing member for closing the opening in the top member, and means to removably fasten the free end portion of the flexible top member to the end pieces.

6. A travelling bag in the form of a container having side pieces and end pieces, a flexible member forming the top of said bag fastened to the side pieces of the container and to the sides of the end pieces, said flexible top member hav ing an opening therein extending longitudinally of same, and flaps formed at the end of said flexible top member, said flaps overhanging the end pieces of the bag, means to close the opening in the top member, and means to detachably fasten the flaps to the end pieces, at least one of said fastening means being key-operated.

7. An article of the'character described in the form of a container having side pieces and end pieces, a flexible member forming the top of said bag fastened to the side pieces of the container and to the sides of the end pieces, said flexible top member having an opening therein extending longitudinally of same, and flaps formed at the end of said flexible top member, said flaps overhanging the end pieces of the bag, and a closure applied to the sides of the opening of the top piece, and key-operated means to lock each of said flaps to the end piece which it overhangs.

BENJAMIN LAUFMAN. 

